Rahul Dravid: Youngsters must aspire to play all three formats

Gurgaon: Indian batting great Rahul Dravid yesterday exhorted youngsters to aspire playing all three formats of the game and not just focus on Twenty20 cricket.

Daredevils mentor Rahul Dravid

When asked about the emerging trend of T20 specialists like Pawan Negi being picked for the Indian team, Dravid said the upcoming talent must focus on playing all formats.

"There are many examples of players who are equally successful in all formats including Test cricket. We tend to focus on T20 specialists but we also tend to forget that there are guys like Virat Kohli, (Shikhar) Dhawan and MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, who has had an incredible year. So there are good enough examples in the same team of players who have done well in all three formats," Dravid said.

Dravid’s advice"So my advice to youngsters is to aspire to play all three formats of the game. Why sell yourself short? Why play only one format, why not aspire to play in all three?"

Delhi Daredevils yesterday roped in former India captain Rahul Dravid as their mentor and Paddy Upton as head coach, hoping for a change of fortunes in the upcoming IPL after three disappointing seasons.

The announcement yesterday marks the return of Dravid-Upton combination which did well for the now suspended Rajasthan Royals. Dravid had also captained the Royals to the last four stage twice in the IPL.

Former India players Pravin Amre and Sridharan Sriram remained part of the support staff alongside TA Sekar. The squad will undergo a camp here in two phases with the first phase beginning yesterday at the Teri Ground.